creep

There's something distantly creepy about a nearly-empty apartment with no curtains on the windows at 2:45am. Yes, I know it's 2:45am and I know that for some reason, I'm awake.

Somehow, over the next 8.5 hours, I need to sleep, empty out my car into my office, empty out my kitchen into my car and then part of that into my office, clean said kitchen, including stove and fridge, vaccuum and hope for the best in regards to the final inspection of this place.

... sigh.

I hate moving.

living on a thermarest

I've spent the past two nights in the mostly-empty Apartment. It's not been too bad. I haven't slept solidly through the night yet, but it's to be expected. I have maybe 1-2 more car loads of stuff to get out of this place, but that'll happen closer to Thursday.

I need to vacuum, mop, wipe, wash, spray, yadda, yadda, yadda before then. We need to rent a steam cleaner as well for the carpet. There's a few areas that need it more than others, but it'd probably be better for us if we did.

Life continues, and after this week, I'm looking forward to not having to move again for a while. One can only hope, at least.

you know it's april when...

I told a few co-workers about my upcoming move yesterday and they started joking "You know it's April when Tim moves..." This is the 6th year in a row that I've moved in April, or within a week thereof. I have moved 11 times in the past 6 years, with number 12 coming up over the next few weeks. I'm hoping my next place can offer me stability. I got 13 months out of the current place, which is the record since I started going to school in Kitchener.

This year is a different type of move. Usually it's just out of my old place and into the new one. But this time, due to timing of various events, I'm moving my big stuff out of here tomorrow into a friend's garage, camping out in the current place until next Thursday during which time I'll be cleaning up a storm, and probably doing some paint touch-ups. On Thursday I hand in the keys and head to Sarnia for the weekend, and then from the garage / my car into the new place on the afternoon of May 3rd. It's going to be a fun 9 days. I'm going to Sarnia because I'm in a wedding that weekend. So it'll be great times all around... or something.

Woo.

If you're interested in helping, tomorrow both of us are moving out, with a stop by the garage on the way up to the roommate's new place, so you can get a two-fer if you're interested, starting somewhere around 5pm, going til most likely 8 or 9. Otherwise, May 3rd, probably around 3-5ish is when I'll be driving back and forth across the neighbourhood to get into my new place. Let me know via phone or e-mail.

wha...?

Last week, I had the great fortune of having to write the ELPE (English Language Proficiency Exam) at the University. We sat down in a room with about 500 other people, turned over a yellow sheet of paper, and had 50 minutes to write a short essay on one of three topics. I was done in 25 minutes. I was just happy to be finished it, and now I can continue my studies at UW in peace.

I received this e-mail today:

Hello Timothy,

I am writing regarding the ELPE you wrote on April 7, 2009. Although student marks have not yet been posted, I am writing to inform you that you wrote an outstanding paper. You passed the ELPE. Congratulations!

Because I found your paper to be particularly interesting, I would like to ask your permission to use your essay as an example of good writing. May I post your ELPE on my department’s website, and may I use your ELPE in my Writing Skills Workshops? Your name and any identifying comments will not be disclosed. Your identification would remain confidential.

Please let me know when you are able.

I commend you on writing such a good exam.

I said sure, so I'll post a link to it whenever it gets put online.

4 parts: reprise

I can only guess this is the meme Brock was referring to with the previous post title.

Is it sad that I've considered doing this with audio recording before?

Also, two other things: I finished up the draft of my take-home exam today with hopes to do the final proof and hand it in tomorrow.

And, Lent's past, and I'm still off Facebook. 2 months will be on Friday, so I think I can make it til then. Once I get there, 3 months isn't too hard... then maybe 6, 12, and beyond. But for now, I'll just make it through Friday.

four parts, one song

Here's the recording from our most recent Taize service. For the most part, it sounds really good. You can hear the mistakes if you're looking for them, but don't look for them. Just sit back and enjoy. The last 15 minutes is dead air, so you can stop it after the doxology and benediction.

synergize this

From the Sarnia Observer today: "As a member of Sun Media, The Observer has taken advantage of many corporate synergies in recent weeks. "

What the heck is corporate synergy? Not that you should ever badmouth synergy.

art

And here it is, the art project from the NYC trip where we took pictures out the front of the van every 20 minutes on the way there and back.

Enjoy.

the rules

Last summer, while on vacation in Europe, I came up with a game that could be played in almost any big city around the world: "Kick the Chicken"

The rules of this game are simple, you must kick the chicken (pigeon), but it can only be by an accident. If you purposefully kick it, you will lose.

I have yet to win this game.

Today, I had to go up to the University for something, and on the drive up Westmount, a Canada Goose flew and landed in front of my car, forcing me to slam on my brakes, just missing the stupid bird by a few inches. Had I not had enough time to stop, I would have won a variation on Kick the Chicken, but I still would have felt bad. Stupid birds.

Although, I'm not sure I'd actually like to attempt "Kick the Chicken" with a Canada Goose (or a swan for that matter) because I think it'd get pretty ugly fairly quickly. I am not recommending trying this variation to anyone. If you do, I do not and can not take any responsibility for the outcome.

you-google-y

A number of years ago, it was considered very odd to have an online presence. But, with the advent of Google, finding anything, and I mean anything, online has become commonplace. To the point where, it would probably be a rarity to find someone with consistent Internet access who has not at one point in time or another typed their name into Google to see what comes up.

A few years ago, if you had done this, some things that some people think is too personal may have appeared. When I realized that maybe the Internet was not a good place for some of this information, I went back and deleted it from where I had placed it in my younger years. Now, if you type my name into Google, you'll only get a maximum of 5 results in the first 3 pages of results, and all of those come from a work-related site, which I'm OK with. I'm fairly certain there is nothing left online that could be of detriment in my future professional ambitions. It could surface, but I've practiced my due diligence in the matter.

Which brings about the question, is blogging a means by which you can be candid and share all sorts of information that helps those in your circle of friends understand who you are and how they can interact with you, or is it just meant to be random complaints and beefs, all summarized neatly in one easy to update forum?

I think I've done both on here, and I haven't quite decided which way it should go. But for now, as the character Homer Simpson once said, "Don't you hate pants?"*



*I do not actually hate pants. I wear them on a daily basis, or some form of them. You'd probably have to question my sanity if I didn't.

and this was supposed to be the future?

I've now been off Facebook (or as someone I was conversing with recently called it "Crackbook") since February 17th, or 6 weeks, 4 days, and I'm now finding the Internet to be fairly boring after about 10 minutes per day. Yet, for some reason, I can't just shut off the computer and walk away. I check the news to see the Sarnia Observer's breaking news - which just happens to be the latest human interest story with a video attached to it. Or I go and find myself looking at the stock market update on the Globe And Mail - but I don't understand it, and I'm beginning to believe that no one really does, they only talk about it because it makes them feel important, that and the word Economist comes from Greek... Paul called himself the Economist of grace. Figure out that one.

I've been told that there will be a number of event invitations awaiting me when I return to Crackbook next Sunday, or IF I return next Sunday. Maybe I should try cutting off the Internet other than a set time period per day while at home, and only for actual work purposes during business hours. Would that make a difference in my life for the better, or would it leave me even more disconnected from those around me who have adopted the online lifestyle and abandoned the more traditional methods of communication, which have now begun to include such modern methods such as text messaging and cell phones.

When I was growing up, I remember having to call people or actually go to their house to see if they were available. I hated the phone, and still do. Perhaps that explains why I believe that Bell Canada is the most evil corporation on the planet, and why I felt dirty for the first few months that I had a cell phone. I remember the first time I left a message on an answering machine. It went something like this: "Please leave your name and number and a brief message..." BEEP Me: "Mmmm. Mmmmm. Mmmm." click. Would the drawback to using these methods be that we actually have to talk to someone? Or is it because cell phones cost money to use? Has the Internet become such an "essential" tool that we neglect the old methods that quickly?

I can see the reasons why the Internet is miles ahead of where we were, even ten years ago. But at the same time, does having all this 'information' at our fingertips actually make life better, or does it remove the effort that used to be required to complete tasks. In grade 5, I did a report on Japan. I can recall spending hours in the library doing research, and looking through old copies of National Geographic at my grandparents' house to get pictures. It was a long report, typed up in Word Perfect (go white on blue!) with the pictures glued onto the paper in the green duotang. There was something satisfying about handing in that project, knowing that I had learned all that information through taking time to find it out, not just by typing a phrase into Google and having thousands of results instantly at my fingertips.

Maybe life is better now with all these technologies available. But maybe we're missing something.

On Easter Sunday, I will probably give in and log into my Facebook account. I'll probably spend upwards of an hour or more going through all that I've "missed" since February 17th, and then utilize it the same way every day... time well wasted. But here's to hope that I can bring myself to do something different... something... better.

the brain

Finally! A useful Google application that we can all use: Google Brain Search